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Topic: Classical Lute Music (Read 4969 times)

Well drat! I thought there was a related topic on this in the forum, but I looked and didn't find anything. To try to expand my musical interests a bit, I have listened to the solo lute music of John Dowland and Silvius Leopold Weiss recently.

Really enjoy the simplicity and elegance of their works. Most classical I haven't really related to well, but here's an exception I happily found.

I've got Paul O'Dette playing the music of Daneil Bacheler on a CD called Bachelar's Delite. I just happened to hear a cut on a classical station and decided to get it. I went into a Barnes & Noble and looked around but they didn't have it so they ordered it for me. (Could've done that on my PC) It sounds like a very precise and articulate classical guitar. The music is from the Elizabethian Era.

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Ambient isn't just for technicians!

The artist isn't a special kind of man, but every man is a special kind of artist.

I'm a recent lute convert, too. Just picked up Paul O'Dette's "Marco dall'Aquila: Pieces for Lute" on Harmonia Mundi. Great disc. It was recorded live in a castle so there's tons of natural reverb on this recording. The classical purists are poo-pooing this recording for this reason but being an ambient fan I think it adds rather than takes away. Highly recommended CD.

for what it's worth, from a long-time lute music lover, I've REALLY enjoyed Jakob Lindberg's recordings of Weiss' music on a recording simply called "lute music". It's available at amazon, although it's an import. It's beautifully recorded, and the music was played on a 1590 Rauwolf lute. The tone of that instrument is very "warm"- not something people think of when they think of "lute music", but it sounds incredible. Musically, you can't really go wrong with Weiss. The O'Dette recording drone on mentions is also fantastic.

Recently got my first solo lute recording "Lute Music for Witches and Alchemists" played by Lutz Kirchhoff. I mainly got it because it features a piece by the 17th century alchemist Michael Maier. Overall the cd is a lot more gentle and mellow than the title would seem to suggest. But I am enjoying it...

I'm a recent lute convert, too. Just picked up Paul O'Dette's "Marco dall'Aquila: Pieces for Lute" on Harmonia Mundi. Great disc. It was recorded live in a castle so there's tons of natural reverb on this recording. The classical purists are poo-pooing this recording for this reason but being an ambient fan I think it adds rather than takes away. Highly recommended CD.

I recently obtained this one. Haven't heard it all the way through. The melodies are what I expect for lute music but my stance on the reverb is neutral.

I'm a recent lute convert, too. Just picked up Paul O'Dette's "Marco dall'Aquila: Pieces for Lute" on Harmonia Mundi. Great disc. It was recorded live in a castle so there's tons of natural reverb on this recording. The classical purists are poo-pooing this recording for this reason but being an ambient fan I think it adds rather than takes away. Highly recommended CD.

I have a couple of Paul O'Dette CDs on Harmonia Mundi that I've enjoyed quite a bit:

My first exposure to lute was via a solo album by Jan Akkerman ('Tabernakel'), guitarist of 70s Dutch prog band Focus. On the first half of the album, he plays several Renaissance pieces on lute, including a few by Dowland.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------My first exposure to the lute was way back in the 70s on 'I've Seen All Good People' by Yes. I didn't realize it was a lute until I saw the Yes concert movie that came out around '75-'76 or so. Steve Howe is the man!

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Ambient isn't just for technicians!

The artist isn't a special kind of man, but every man is a special kind of artist.